WCAS,
Cambridge,
Massachusetts

AM-740

From
sometime in the early 1970s to May of 1981, there existed a remarkable
little radio station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It had only
250
watts of power; it was AM; and it had to sign off the air at
sunset. By those measures, it was the least among the
dozens of Boston-area radio stations. Yet, many people recall
it
fondly to this day.

Internet
Radio Stream.
Our core is acoustic and urban folk music from the 60s to
the present, plus rare tracks straight from vinyl. Hosted by Dan
Murphy,
formerly of WCAS, Cambridge, WATD, and New Hampshire Public Radio.

The format for which WCAS became known and which so many
people wanted
to "save" evolved into being in the early 1970s during the time that
Rick Starr was program director. In his recollections of
those
years, Rick gives generous credit to several other staff members for
the end result. It is those recollections
which prompted the creation of this page, and they may be found
here.

Rick Starr and Neila Smith, circa December, 1973

Early 70s and Beyond - The Signoffs

As
a station licensed for daytime broadcasting only, WCAS had to signoff
each day at around sunset. The exact time for each month was
specified in the station's license, and during the winter months, that
might fall right in the middle of afternoon drive time.
Sometime
in the early 1970s, a number of humorous signoff productions were
created to provide an alternative to the usual boring announcement and
playing of the national anthem that had been customary on stations
large and small back to the beginning of radio broadcasting.
There have been more requests for those signoffs than for any
other bit of past programming, both before and since this web page was
created. So here finally, on September 12, 2009, we present
the WCAS Daily Signoff. Today's signoff:
John Kolstad & Mike Turk.
Just
like in the old days, it will be different each day.

March 19, 1976

On March 19, 1976, the
ownership of WCAS
officially changed to Wickus Island Broadcasting Corp. During
the
preceeding 3-4 years, the station had twice been scheduled to be sold
to owners with plans to use the station for religious
broadcasts.
Comments from community groups were filed with the FCC protesting the
prospective format change, and the FCC delayed approval of the sale
until the prospective buyers withdrew.

With the completion
of the sale
to Wickus, that particular threat
subsided. On the morning of March 19, 1976, Rick Starr signed
the
station on the air, noted the change of ownership, and played a most
interesting song to begin the day and the years of Wickus
management. Click
here for the WCAS
signon of March 19, 1976.

Public Service Shows - 1976 and beyond

Apart from the music, WCAS
was known for a rather unusual set of public service programs.
Sunday morning was the usual time for stations to air such
programs back when the FCC actually required some evidence of
service to the community of license, and WCAS was no
exception. However, our programs were created and produced by
members of the local community and represented at least some of the
diversity of that community. Here is the weekly Sunday
morning lineup:

February,
1978 - The Blizzard of '78

A
state of emergency was declared in Massachusetts for a
week while we dealt with, among other things, hundreds of cars
abandoned on Rt 128 and other roadways. It also provided a
unique
experience for WCAS staff and listeners for that week -- the station
was on the air at night, a practice allowed by FCC rules in times of
emergency. The staff worked long hours, and volunteers came
in to
help gather and organize local storm-related information.
Pete
Stassa has provided several hours of off-the-air recordings of the
station during
the emergency.
Part 1,Part 2,
Part 3,
Part 4,Part 5,
Part 6,
Part 7,Part 8,
Part 9,
Part 10.

December, 1979

A brief excerpt from "Reggae
Bloodlines"
hosted by Peter Simon.
Peter showed up at our door one day offering to
do a reggae show. It didn't hurt that his sister was Carly
Simon,
so we signed him up for "Reggae Bloodlines", a one-hour slot on the
weekend. Peter was also a
contributing photographer for the Village Voice, the Phoenix (Boston,
Cambridge), Rolling Stone, and others. To date, he has
published
ten books, including "Reggae Bloodlines" and his latest, "I and
EYE".

January 1, 1980

On January 1, 1980, WCAS
broadcast the "WCAS TOP 74" songs
of the 1970s as ranked by
WCAS listeners and staff. During December, WCAS asked
listeners
to vote for their favorite 5 WCAS songs. From several hundred
responses, plus staff input, we compiled this list of the WCAS TOP 74
and counted down the entire list on January 1.

At
the
conclusion of the TOP74 countdown and just before signoff, we credited
the many WCAS staff members who had added their talents and efforts to
the station up to that moment. Click
here for the audio.

Since Then

Some of the air
personalities from WCAS continued to bring music in the WCAS tradition
to the airwaves. Here are a few I know of. Tell us
if you
know of others.

Joan Orr did shows on WBOS, WUMB, and some other Cape Cod
stations and for many years did "Something Different" on WATD, Marshfield,
MA.

WUMB
has been playing folk/acoustic music in the Boston area for many years.
A part of UMass Boston, they have been known to describe the
station as carrying on the legacy of WCAS. Frank Dudgeon as
well
as Joan Orr have turned up there since their WCAS days.

WERS,
Emerson College, Boston, picked up and carried Live At Passim for
several years.

Yours
truly, Dan Murphy, hosted The Folk Show on New Hampshire Public Radio
in the early-mid 1990s and spelled Joan Orr at WATD occasionally from
about 2000 to 2006. Right now, I'm doing folk and acoustic
music on internet radio at The
Acoustic Outpost. Do check it out!

Bill
Goldsmith, PD of WCAS circa 1979-80, has been doing internet radio for
over 10 years! He was a pioneer. Check out the
station at RadioParadise.